ocean research
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10-4
I’m on the second flight toward the first destination of my current adventure. I’ll be in Portland, Oregon in 3 hours. I’ll stay there for two days before I travel to Newport, OR with my boss, my fairy godmother Beverly and my fairy sister Yeong. It’s been 6 hours since I left Michael tearfully at Continue reading
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Third Time is a Charm
I’ll be going back to sea in less than two weeks. The time has come so quickly. I have known for two years since my last expedition that I would be returning to 9 degrees north of the equator in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, but I did not know exactly when until a few months Continue reading
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The Next Level
I have been living in Tampa for exactly one year and 3 days. On July 31, 2014 I drove from Philadelphia to Florida with my 3 cats to start a new chapter in my life. As a new year of graduate school begins, I am tentatively outlining my agenda for the coming semester. My current Continue reading
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Long Time, No Sea
Since returning from my research cruise 3 months ago, winter break has come and gone and a new semester has begun. The samples that were collected at sea with the submersible ALVIN are being stored in a -80 degree celsius freezer in the laboratory. The relationship between my advisor and I has survived the pressure Continue reading
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Rewind to October 30th, arriving in Manzanillo
Before flying out to Mexico on October 30th, equipment and chemicals had to be shipped to the research vessel Atlantis which was docked in San Francisco before sailing to meet the science group in Manzanillo. When preparing for a research cruise every experiment to be preformed must be walked through meticulously, and everything that could conceivably Continue reading
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Changed forever at sea
As a first year grad student, I have had a lot of personal challenges on this trip. There have been tremendous highs and depressing lows. Science at sea is about seizing every moment that you can and making the most of every moment that is possible. This is especially true in the case of my Continue reading
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Day 7 at 9 degrees North
Today is our 7th day at sea in the East Pacific. We’ve been stationed at the 9 degrees north study site and have launched two Alvin dives. The first evening of Alvin’s dives brought up buckets of giant Riftia tube worms for me to dissect and take samples that are needed to study the metabolic pathways Continue reading
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Hello, Goodbye Manzanillo!
After two layovers, three flights, and a 1 hour taxi ride through the tropical heat we, a group of 16 scientists who had in some way or another found their way to the Manzanillo airport, converged on the Hotel Colonial by the Manzanillo harbor with luggage and miscellaneous last minute science equipment crates. Over a Continue reading